by Highland, Ohio — The Walsh Jesuit Warriors brought their skills to North Gateway Tire Field Friday night, showing Highland what to expect for the season with a score of 34-0.
Walsh Jesuit opened the game Friday night with starting possession and quickly turned up the heat on the Highland Hornets home turf. With a 27-yard pass, senior David Ternosky and freshman Cameron Brunson opened an aggressive offensive game plan to start the game.
From the first quarter, the pressure was building for the Highland Hornets as once in possession of the ball, it was quickly lost after a fumble recovery from Walsh Jesuit senior Caleb Buckner.
This gave the final push Walsh Jesuit needed for an 18-yard field goal from junior Oliver Nonno securing Walsh Jesuit 3 points to start the game.
Oliver Nonno wasn’t finished yet however, as shortly after Walsh Jesuit regained possession of the ball, Nonno kicked a 51-yard field goal to secure another 3 points on the board for Walsh Jesuit.
Going into the second quarter, Walsh Jesuit kept their momentum going with an 11-yard touchdown from junior Dominick Courtad, with an extra 2 points from Ternosky, Walsh Jesuit showed a score of 14-0 against Highland by the 8:00 minute mark.
The Highland Hornets towards the latter half of the quarter brought the heat on offense with seniors Ben Radigan and Athony Depompei screening the ball past the Walsh Jesuit Defensive line.
The heat didn’t last long however, as Walsh Jesuit decided that the first half was ending in a field goal for them. This was teed off by a 73-yard run across the field by sophomore Cayden Levert, catapulting Walsh Jesuit another 3 points for a total of 17-0 by the end of the first half.
The second half opened with a relentless defense from Walsh Jesuit, stopping Highland just after the 10-yard line, forcing them to get any yards they could with a 34-yard kick to the 44-yard line.
Upon regaining possession Walsh Jesuit wanted to show the energy they were bringing in the first half with runs from Courtad and senior Sam Barrett driving the ball from the 42 to the 11-yard line. This push gave Nonno the momentum he needed to score his fourth field goal of the game at 3:40 of the third quarter putting the Walsh Jesuit Warriors at 20-0.
Going into the fourth quarter, Walsh Jesuit kept their momentum up when Sophomore Mason Rodgers drove the ball 20-yards up the field to tee himself up for a touchdown and an extra point, putting Walsh Jesuit farther up with a score of 27-0.
This was followed up by another touchdown from the same line up, setting up Walsh Jesuit with a score of 34-0 by 3:38.
Highland couldn’t get the momentum they needed to pick up the pieces of the first half, and the 2025 SLA Champions started with a cold open to the 2026 season. Walsh Jesuit won, 34-0, a big victory for the away team far from home.
Players of the Game:
Walsh Jesuit: RB Mason Rodgers (11 carries, 87 yards, TD)
